Illegal logging in Romanian state-owned forests drops in Q1

Illegal logging in the state forests managed by the National Forestry Directorate - Romsilva decreased by 20.86% in volume year-on-year, from 10,782 cubic meters in the first quarter of 2016 to 8,533 cubic meters in the same period this year. Meanwhile, the damage caused by these actions totaled RON 2.27 million (over EUR 0.5 million) in the January-March period, down from RON 3.2 million registered in the same period the previous year. Romsilva employees carried out more than 23,100 controls on timber traffic in the January-March period, out of which 5,274 jointly with the police, and identified 335 forestry offenses and 4,638 contraventions. Following these checks, authorities imposed fines totaling RON 9.8 million (EUR 2.1 million) and seized 4,790 cubic meters of timber. Illegal logging in the private forests managed by Romsilva also decreased in the first quarter of the year, when compared to the same period in 2016, to 4,408 cubic meters (down 20.15%). Romsilva manages some 3.14 million hectares of state-owned forests and about 1 million hectares of forest owned by individuals or companies. Activists protest against illegal logging in Romania’s Fagaras Mountains Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com